Taking the train in Bangladesh
Watching the news, you could be forgiven for thinking that Bangladesh was not so much a country as a disaster zone. But you’d be surprised. It is a fascinating country with a rich and varied history and at present fairly few tourists. Bangladesh has a largely British-built rail network linking most major towns and cities, including Dhaka & Chittagong. The network is divided into two halves, eastern and western, by the great rivers which divide the country itself. The western network is the largely broad gauge, the eastern network largely meters gauge. Unfortunately, connections between these two networks are often poor. There is a railway route map at http://www.railway.gov.bd.Dhaka – Chittagong by train…
There is a good train service between the capital city, Dhaka, and Bangladesh’s second city, Chittagong. Dhaka & Chittagong are both in the eastern half of the country on the meter-gauge train network, linked by fast daytime InterCity trains and two good overnight trains with sleeping-cars.
Dhaka ► Chittagong
Train number: 788 704 4 702 2 742
Type: Intercity Mail
Name: Sonar Bangla
Express Mahanagar
Provati Karnaphuli
Express Subarna
Express Chittagong
Mail Turna Express
Days: not Saturday daily not Friday Daily
Dhaka depart: 07:00 07:45 08:30 15:00 22:30 23:30
Chittagong arrive: 12:40 14:55 18:30 20:30 07:50 07:10
Intercity = Fast quality train, restaurant car, recommended. AC class seats, Snigdha, 1st class, shuvon chair, shuvon & shulov seats.
Turna Express = Overnight quality intercity service with air-conditioned AC class 2-berth sleepers, AC class seats, 1st class seats, shuvon chair, shuvon & shulovseats.
Sonar Bangla Express uses the latest carriages, delivered in 2016.
Express = Slower than InterCity trains. Air-conditioned AC class seats, 1st class seats, shuvon chair, shuvon & shulov seats.
Mail = Slower overnight train with AC class 2-berth sleepers, 1st class 4-berth sleepers, 1st class seats, shuvon chair, shuvon & shulov seats.
not Sunday = daily except Sundays; not Friday = daily except Fridays.
Chittagong ► Dhaka
Train number: 701 721 3 703 787 1 741
Type: Intercity Intercity Express Intercity Intercity Mail Intercity
Name: Subarna
Express Mohanagar
Provati Karnaphuli
Express Mohanagar
Goduli Sonar Bangla
Express Dhaka
Mail Turna Express
Days: not Friday not Sunday daily, not Saturday daily
Chittagong depart: 07:00 12:30 10:00 15:00 17:00 22:30 23:00
Dhaka arrive: 12:40 19:30 20:10 22:15 22:40 07:20 06:30
Fares
Dhaka – Chittagong one-way fares per person, in Taka…
AC class berth AC class seat Snigdha 1st class berth 1st class seat Shuvon Chair Shuvon Shulov
1093 731 610 635 425 320 285 160
£1 = approx 115 taka. $1 = approx 75 taka.
Children under 3 travel free, children aged 3 to 9 half fare. Children 10 and over pay the adult fare.
You can check fares at http://www.railway.gov.bd.
How to buy tickets…
Bangladeshi Railways now have an online ticket service, see http://www.esheba.cnsbd.com, but it only works with Bangladeshi bank cards and tickets are only sent to Bangladesh mobile phones, so it’s no good for overseas visitors. The high-quality InterCity trains are very popular and often leave full, so make reservations at a station as soon as you can, or find a suitable local travel agency who will arrange tickets for you. Feedback appreciated.
Classes of accommodation…
There are various classes on Bangladeshi trains, where AC means air-conditioned…
– AC class berth. These are air-conditioned 2-berth sleeper compartments on the best overnight trains.
– AC class seat. The best accommodation on daytime trains. Air-conditioned, carpeted cars with reclining seats, all reserved.
– Snigdha. These are AC class air-conditioned reclining seat cars with the TV screen.
– 1st class berth. 1st class berths are arranged in 4-berth sleeper compartments on overnight trains.
– 1st class seat, all reserved.
– 2nd class shuvon chair. Shuvon means better looking, a second class chair car with reclining seats, all reserved.
– 2nd class shuvon. More basic seating than shuvon chair cars, all reserved.
– 2nd class Shulov. Shulov means easily available. These are second-class cars with bench seats. Unreserved seating, often crowded.
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